Vocal Cord Paralysis

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Vocal Cord Paralysis

Vocal cord paralysis, or weakness of one or both vocal cords, can affect your ability to speak, swallow, cough, and even breathe. That’s because your vocal cords, sometimes called vocal folds, do more than just produce sound. They also protect your airway by preventing food, drink and even your saliva from entering your windpipe (trachea). They close forcibly to allow a cough to clear the airway of irritants. There are a number of causes of vocal cord paralysis, including nerve damage during surgery and certain cancers. Vocal cord paralysis can also be caused by a viral infection or a neurological disorder. The surgeons of Westside Head & Neck have considerable experience treating vocal cord paralysis.

Symptoms of vocal cord paralysis

Hoarseness

Trouble projecting your voice

Weakness of your voice toward the end of the day

Trouble breathing, or quickly running out of breath while speaking or exercising

Trouble swallowing

Weak cough

Your vocal cords are two flexible bands of muscle tissue that sit at the entrance to your windpipe (trachea). When you speak, the bands come together and vibrate to make sound. The rest of the time, your vocal cords are relaxed in an open position, so you can breathe. In most cases of vocal cord paralysis, only one vocal cord is paralyzed. If both of your vocal cords are affected, you may also have significant problems with breathing and swallowing.

If you have unexplained, persistent hoarseness for more than three or four weeks, or if you notice any unexplained voice or swallowing changes or discomfort, you should be evaluated by an Otolaryngologist, preferably one specially trained in Laryngology.

Causes of vocal cord paralysis

In vocal cord paralysis, the nerve impulses to your voice box (larynx) are interrupted, resulting in paralysis of the muscle. Doctors often don’t know the cause of vocal cord paralysis. Known causes include:

Injury to the vocal cord during surgery. Surgery on or near your neck or upper chest can result in damage to the nerves that serve your voice box. Surgeries that carry a risk of damage include surgeries to the thyroid or parathyroid glands, esophagus, neck, and chest. The tube used for general anesthesia can rarely cause injury to the nerve to the vocal cord.

Neck or chest injury. Trauma to your neck or chest may injure the nerves that serve your vocal cords or the voice box itself.

Stroke. A stroke interrupts blood flow in your brain and may damage the part of your brain that sends messages to the voice box.

Tumors. Tumors, both cancerous and non-cancerous, can grow in or around the muscles, cartilages or nerves of your voice box and can cause vocal cord paralysis.

Inflammation. Arthritis or surgery can cause inflammation and scarring of the vocal cord joints or the space between the two vocal cord cartilages. This inflammation may prevent your vocal cords from opening and closing. The signs and symptoms of this disorder mimic vocal cord paralysis, even though the vocal cord nerves remain normal. In addition, some viral infections can inflame and damage the nerves in the larynx.

Neurological conditions. If you have certain neurological conditions, such as multiple sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease, you may experience vocal cord paralysis. However, these conditions are more likely to cause vocal cord weakness than complete paralysis.

Detection and Diagnosis

To further evaluate your voice problems, the following tests may be performed:

Endoscopy. Your doctor will look at your vocal cords using a an Videostrobolaryngoscopy, which uses a special scope containing a tiny camera at its tip ,allow s your doctor to view your vocal cords on a video monitor to determine the movement and position of your vocal cords, and whether one or both vocal cords are affected.

Laryngeal electromyography. This test measures the electric currents in your voice box muscles. By looking at the pattern of the currents, your doctor can determine the degree of the problem and what types of treatment may be most effective.

Blood tests and scans. Because a number of diseases may cause nerve damage, you may need additional tests to identify the cause of the paralysis. Tests may include blood work, lung function tests, X-rays, MRI or CT scans.

Treatments and Drugs

Treatment of vocal cord paralysis depends on the cause, the severity of symptoms, and the time from the onset of symptoms. Treatment may include voice therapy, surgery, or both. In some instances, you may get better without surgical treatment. For this reason, your doctor may delay surgery for six months to a year from the beginning of your vocal cord paralysis. During this waiting period, your doctor may suggest voice therapy to help keep you from using your voice improperly while the nerves heal.

If your vocal cord paralysis symptoms don’t fully recover on their own, surgical treatments may be offered to improve your ability to speak and to swallow. Surgical options include:

Bulk injection. Paralysis of the nerve to your vocal cord will probably leave the vocal cord muscle thin and weak. To add bulk to a paralyzed vocal cord the laryngologist may inject your vocal cord with a substance such as gel or collagen . This added bulk brings the weakvocal cord closer to the middle of your voice box so that the opposite functioning vocal cord can make closer contact with the paralyzed cord when you speak, swallow, or cough.

Vocal cord repositioning. In this procedure, a surgeon places a small permanent implant beneath the edge of your vocal cord to provide lasting bulk for the weak vocal cord. This allows your unimpaired vocal cord to better vibrate against its paralyzed partner. This is done under sedation, but general anesthesia is not necessary.

If both of your vocal cords are paralyzed and positioned closely together, your airflow will be decreased. In this situation, you may require a surgical procedure to open and protect your airway.